Taking Double Cut, Surgeons Implant Their Own Devices

JACKSON, Miss.—On April 7, a 48-year-old Baptist preacher named Gary Steve Moore had spinal-fusion surgery at St. Dominic Hospital here. Hours later, he was dead.

Mr. Moore had been suffering from a degenerating disk in his lower back. Two spine surgeons who later reviewed his medical records say his history of heart disease and bowel obstructions made him a poor candidate for a 360-degree spinal fusion, a complex operation that involved opening up both his abdomen and his back.